Chapter 106: The Battle in the Forbidden Forest (Part 2)
Chapter 106: The Battle in the Forbidden Forest (Part 2)
"Humility is indeed commendable, and caution is not wrong either, but those are things to consider later. You can certainly show off a little more at your age."
Professor Olren seemed to treat this place like a classroom, speaking earnestly, "After all, your age is right there. Who would really take an eleven-year-old freshman as an opponent?"
Kyle continued walking forward without saying a word.
Professor Olren didn't mind and continued, "I'm done talking. Now it's your turn. Tell me when you discovered it."
Kyle blinked and said, "Discover what? I don't understand what you mean, Professor."
"If this is your answer..." Professor Olren suddenly stopped and said coldly, "Then we don't need to go any further."
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Even Conna, who was focused on finding Pochi, felt something was amiss and unconsciously moved closer to Kyle.
"As the yearly Dark Arts Defense Professor, I don't doubt that you have a problem."
Kyle shrugged and said, "Everyone knows this is a cursed position. For most of the appointed professors, they either get injured and sent to St. Mungo's, or they're sent to Azkaban.
There are also some unlucky ones who don't make it to either place.
Even the professors who manage to survive until the end of the term will have to resign for various reasons.
Now it's the end of the term, and you haven't had any accidents or resigned, so you must have a problem with your identity."
"You're right about that. Tsk tsk... a cursed position."
Professor Olren sighed and said, "I actually quite enjoyed being a professor, but my identity was discovered. I just received news that the Ministry of Magic is on their way.
Those useless fools probably never imagined that I was hiding in Hogwarts, and they've been searching for me for so long."
When he mentioned the Ministry of Magic, disdain filled Olren's eyes.
"Wait, you mean the Ministry is looking for you, not the Winged Serpent, but you!"
"Of course, it's me."
Olren mocked, "Think about it. It's just a magical creature, is it worth making such a big fuss? What they want is what I have."
"What is it..." Kyle asked subconsciously.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Olren teased, "If you want to know, I can tell you."
"Um... I don't want to." Kyle came back to his senses and forced a laugh, "I don't have that much curiosity."
The Ministry of Magic had been searching for something for half a year, and it was most likely related to something extraordinary. He didn't want to get involved.
Hearing this, even the slow Conna reacted and looked at Olren in disbelief, subconsciously drawing her wand.
"No need to be so nervous, Miss Prince." Olren not only didn't mind her small movement but also turned his gaze to a tree on the left side.
"Oh, look what I found."
He waved his wand lightly, and the fallen leaves on the ground began to wriggle like snakes, coiling around a gray-haired mouse lying at the tree's roots.
"Pochi!"
Conna cried out and tremblingly extended her wand, "Let it go..."
"I'll give you one last lesson."
Professor Olren didn't even glance at Conna and aimed his wand at the mouse, "If you want to confirm whether the animal in front of you is an Animagus, the Revealing Charm is the best choice.
Reveal yourself!"
The wand shot out a beam of light, and in an instant, the mouse hovered in mid-air, its small gray body writhing frantically.
Olren waved his wand again, and the leaves scattered as the mouse fell to the ground, followed by a dazzling flash of light...
Like a time-lapse of a growing tree, a head appeared, then limbs, and in a moment, an old, hunchbacked, and ugly witch appeared out of thin air.
The witch was hunched over, making her look very small and frail. Her sparse, lusterless hair was messy, covering her large, ugly hooked nose.
Conna looked at the old witch in front of her and froze once again. She extended her hand and spoke incoherently, "She... Pochi... Po..."
"So your name is Pochi, nice to meet you." Professor Olren said happily, as if he had just met a new friend at a banquet.
"Damn it!" The witch was furious. She took out a thick, short wand and glared at Olren, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"
Her voice was very hoarse, as if she was using a rusty lawnmower to saw wood.
As the witch's wand emitted a purple light, it shot straight towards Oren's chest.
This was a good opportunity...
Seizing the moment, Kyle swiftly retrieved two flying brooms from the Morphing Lizard Bag and handed one to Conna.
"Let's go find Professor McGonagall!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Conna understood Kyle's intention and quickly mounted her broom, flying towards the sky.
Once she was gone, Kyle didn't follow but casually tossed the broken broom aside.
...
On the other side, Oren effortlessly dodged the witch's spell with a simple turn, followed by a mocking laugh. He raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A sickly green light grazed past the witch's ear and struck a small passing spider behind her.
The unfortunate spider stiffened instantly.
The witch, who had narrowly escaped death, was so terrified that she collapsed on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
After finishing this, Oren turned his head and happened to see Kyle throwing away the broom.
"You always manage to surprise me."
"As you said before..." Kyle smiled, "Always carry a flying broom, it can save your life."
"Hufflepuff, fifty points." Oren smiled, "That's the highest score I can award."
He didn't bother about Conna, who had already left, and let her disappear from his sight.
"Kyle, you didn't seem surprised at all, or did you already know that the rat was an Animagus?"
After Conna's departure, Kyle felt much more relaxed. He stretched his stiff shoulders and nodded, "I had my suspicions."
Ever since Conna mentioned that Pochi was sick, he had his doubts.
Then, during the Quidditch match, he noted down the names of those still in the common room using the Marauder's Map.
Among those names, one didn't appear on Hufflepuff's roster.
However, at this point, Kyle was still only suspicious. It was hard to believe that there were two rat Animagi in the castle; the idea seemed far-fetched.
It was possible that someone had visited Hufflepuff that day.
So, Kyle had been searching for the rosters of the other three houses.
So far, he had only left Slytherin's roster unchecked.
But... there was no need for that anymore.
"Now that you know, why didn't you say anything?" Oren raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you worried about that girl's safety?"
"Then why did you bring us to the Forbidden Forest?" Kyle shrugged, "This is Hogwarts, would she dare?"
Oren chuckled lightly, "It seems you're smarter than I thought."
His expression quickly turned cold, and he spoke to the witch sitting on the ground, "Kill that boy, and you'll live."
Is this the start of the fight?
Kyle touched the ring on his hand.
But the next second, Oren's voice came again.
"You probably have some means of escape, but I suggest you wait. Remember, I have a Winged Serpent. Where do you think it is now?"
Kyle's pupils shrank, "You..."
In the moment of hesitation, the witch's spell arrived.
Kyle quickly lay down, and although the move wasn't graceful, he managed to dodge it.
A deep purple spell struck the tree behind him, instantly corroding a large area of its trunk.
"Ten minutes."
Oren placed an hourglass on a nearby stone and said, "In ten minutes, the Winged Serpent will be back. Good luck."
Ten minutes, huh? Alright!
Kyle clenched his teeth, seeing a fireball coming towards him. He turned and ran deeper into the Forbidden Forest, hoping to use the dense bushes to hide from the witch's spells.
Unfair!
Kyle cursed silently as he sprinted through the forest.
Why did Harry always encounter either Quirrell, who was controlled by Voldemort, or Lockhart, who was as dumb as a doorknob, while he got stuck with Oren, who had more cunning than a beehive?
How unfair!
...
On the other side, the witch became anxious after several of her spells missed. Her incantation speed noticeably increased.
Oren's previous words were also directed at her. If Kyle was still alive after ten minutes, she would be the one to die.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Upside Down Charm!"
"Corrosive Acid!"
...
Kyle ran ahead, and the witch chased after him desperately.
But as she ran, her feet suddenly went soft, as if she was stepping on water, and her entire body lost balance and fell uncontrollably.
At this moment, Kyle also stopped. He quickly turned around and pointed his wand at a large tree next to the witch.
"Soft and powerless!"
The tree canopy trembled, and the originally straight tree instantly became soft. The soft trunk, under the effect of gravity, bent like noodles and fell towards the witch.
The Softening Charm only made the object soft, but its weight remained unchanged.
Seeing a millstone-thick tree falling directly above her, the witch was so scared that her face turned pale, and she crawled and tried to run.
Kyle waved his wand, and several tree branches rose from the ground. Then, with a twist, they transformed into sharp stone cones and flew towards the witch.
The witch also saw Kyle's action, and she shouted angrily, "Armor Guard..."
"Boom!"
But just at this moment, with a loud noise, the tree finally fell.
Countless birds were startled by the enormous sound and scattered in all directions.
When the dust settled, there was a large pit on the ground.
The witch was lying in the pit, howling in pain.
One of her arms was trapped under the tree, and a stone cone was stuck in her leg, rendering her completely unable to resist.
The battle started quickly and ended even faster, leaving even Oren somewhat incredulous.
The witch was useless, but she was, after all, an adult wizard who had learned Animagus, right? Could it end like this?
If Kyle had used a bunch of high-end spells, Oren could accept it.
But the problem was that Kyle had only used five spells from start to finish, and they were all the simplest ones.
Two Softening Charms, a Levitation Charm, a Basic Transfiguration, and a Movement Charm—almost any young wizard could do these.
...
Kyle wasn't too surprised. After all, he had spent two weeks reading the biography of the Dueling Master, and it was unlikely that he had gained nothing from it.
Setting up traps, using terrain, and beating up a fallen opponent were just basic dueling techniques.
Additionally, the witch was genuinely unskilled. Just look at the spells she used...
Aside from the Corrosion Charm, the Upside Down Charm, and Petrificus Totalus, which were third-year and below spells, the only one with some difficulty was the fifth-year Explosion Charm.
Moreover, her mind wasn't very sharp either. She fell for the act so easily that Kyle began to doubt if her Animagus ability was even real.
Of course, if there was a place to buy it.
"Disarm!"
Kyle walked over, reached out, and placed the short wand into his robe pocket.
"Clap, clap, clap... Hufflepuff, fifty points." Oren clapped his hands and pointed his wand at Kyle, saying, "So, do you need me to give you time to escape?"
"Professor Oren..." Kyle stood still, puzzled, and said, "Why do you have to target me? Even if I took one of your Billywigs, it's not a crime worthy of this... At most, I'll return ten of them to you."
"..."
Oren's hand holding the wand trembled slightly.
"This has nothing to do with that," he said through gritted teeth. "It's because you're Chris's son. If he hadn't meddled back then, I wouldn't have ended up like this... Wait, are you stalling for time?
Tsk tsk, do you really expect those idiots from the Ministry of Magic to save you?"
"I am stalling for time, but not for someone to come to my rescue," Kyle said, looking directly at Oren. "I have one more question. Why did I let Conna leave?"
"So-called friendship?"
"On one hand," Kyle shrugged, "and on the other, there's something on me that isn't suitable for her to see."
"What... Ah!"
Oren suddenly screamed in pain. He felt his leg as if it had been bitten by something, and instantly, he lost all sensation.
"Disarm!"
A red light shot out from Kyle's wand.
Oren endured the intense pain and rolled forward to avoid Kyle's Disarm spell. At the same time, he also saw what had bitten him.
Two round cabbages.
"Damn it!" Oren gritted his teeth and said, "How could there be Z-World Biting Cabbages in the Forbidden Forest?"
"Of course, I brought them," Kyle said, releasing another Disarm spell. "Hogwarts is too dangerous. Even Hagrid can be ambushed. It's reasonable for a small wizard like me to carry something for self-defense."
(End of Chapter)
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